Disbarred Cobb attorney gets prison for defrauding clients

A disbarred Smyrna attorney has been sentenced for settling civil lawsuits without telling his clients and keeping the money for himself.

Richard Vinson Merritt, 44, pleaded guilty in Cobb County court Friday, according to prosecutors. The judge ordered he spend 15 years in prison and 15 on probation in addition to paying a restitution of $454,706.

Investigators found he used the money taken from clients, some elderly or filing medical malpractice claims, to buy a Porsche or go on vacation.

“The victims came to him for help, and he helped himself instead,” prosecutor Jason Marbutt said in a Cobb district attorney’s office news release.